(fēi zhōu) - Africa in Mandarin
fēizhōuTraditional: 非洲
Translation
Africa
Word origin
A clipping of the older transliteration 阿非利加 (Africa) down to its 非 syllable, plus 洲 (zhōu, continent), on the same pattern as 欧洲 and 亚洲.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 非 (fēi, from the transliteration of Africa) + 洲 (zhōu, continent)
Stroke order
非
洲
Examples
。
He worked in Africa for three years.
。
There are many countries in Africa.
。
This animal is found only in Africa.
野。
She wants to go to Africa to see wild animals.
。
Summers in Africa are very hot.
非洲 (fēi zhōu) is Africa. Continent names in Chinese are built the same way: one syllable rescued from a sound-borrowing, then 洲 for continent. 欧洲 is Europe, 亚洲 Asia, 美洲 the Americas, 澳洲 Australia.
That means the 非 here is doing no semantic work at all, even though on its own it is the character for "not" or "non-". Nothing about Africa is being negated; the syllable is a leftover from 阿非利加.
The real trap is the second character. 洲 (continent, with the water radical) and 州 (a state or prefecture, as in 加州 for California) are both zhōu, first tone, and differ by three strokes. Write 非州 and you have produced something that reads as a province nobody has heard of.
Where this fits
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非洲: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "非洲" (Africa): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 52.